DID YOU KNOW?
Parents with asthma are more likely to have children with asthma than parents who do not have asthma.
what is asthma
Asthma is a chronic disease that makes the airways inflamed and narrow and makes it hard to breathe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 9.4% of children in the United States have asthma.1 How serious asthma is depends on how inflamed and narrow the airways become.
What happens in the body?
The lungs contain a network of passages or connecting airways called bronchial tubes, which are covered by small muscles. If your child has asthma, these bronchial tubes, or airways, tend to be inflamed and are easily irritated by various triggers, such as mold spores, pollen, smoke, and animal dander. These triggers cause the walls of their bronchial tubes to become even more inflamed, and the surrounding muscles to tighten. This further narrows your child's airway, which means less oxygen reaches their lungs. While your child's bronchial tubes are tightening, they also release mucus that blocks the airway even more.
What causes asthma?
No one is exactly sure what causes asthma, but a few factors seem to make some people more likely to have it:
- An inherited tendency to develop allergies
- Some childhood respiratory infections
- Early exposure to airborne allergens such as mold or dust mites
Just as people may develop asthma for different reasons, many different environments, foods, and situations can trigger asthma symptoms in different people.
Is it inherited?
Yes and no. There is no known specific gene that causes someone to have asthma. However, if you have asthma, your child is more likely to develop it as well. If both parents have asthma, the chances that a child will have it are even higher.
Asthma is a disease of the lungs. It causes the airways in the lungs to become inflamed and narrow.
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